BELLEFONTE — The Centre County Board of Commissioners has approved a five-year agreement with the Centre Foundation to continue administering a scholarship program aimed at training and supporting volunteer emergency responders.

The Centre County Emergency Responder Scholarship Fund provides financial assistance for residents pursuing education and training in fire, EMS and other emergency services fields. The fund currently has about $15,000 available for distribution, with individual awards of up to $2,500 per recipient each academic year.

The commissioners said the program has been in place for several years and has supported roughly a dozen students to date. The renewed agreement, approved unanimously Tuesday, extends the partnership with the Centre Foundation for another five years.

Funding may be used for coursework at the Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology or the South Hills School of Business & Technology, as well as emergency services training at the Centre County Public Safety Training Center and the phlebotomy program at Centre LifeLink EMS.

Commissioners said the program plays an important role in addressing staffing needs among local emergency services.

“We need more people being trained in these kinds of services,” Commissioner Amber Concepcion said before the vote.

To be eligible, applicants must meet the following criteria:

— Be a resident of Centre County

— Volunteer with a Centre County-based emergency responder organization (including fire companies, fire police or EMS) for at least three months prior to the next academic year

— Remain on active duty through the end of the funded academic year

— Be accepted into CPI, South Hills or another approved program required to maintain emergency responder status

Priority may be given to new volunteers, including individuals who have not served as emergency responders for two calendar years, junior volunteers transitioning to active adult status or new county residents.

Due to the special circumstances of EMS services, new applicants to EMS companies will be considered volunteers for eligibility purposes.

Nationwide, the ongoing emergency responder shortage is fueled by chronic turnover as agencies struggle to retain workers in a high-demand, high-stress system where wages and staffing levels have not kept pace with workload and burnout pressures.